Laminitis – A medical explanation

Early symptoms of laminitis

Increased temperature of the wall, sole and/or coronary band of the foot.

Hoof deformation

A pounding pulse in the digital palmar artery.

Late stage symptoms of laminitis

Anxiety

Visible trembling

Increased vital signs and body temperature

Sweating

Flared Nostrils

Walking very tenderly, as if walking on egg shells

Repeated “easing” of affected feet

The horse standing in a “founder stance” (the horse will attempt to decrease the load on the affected feet). If it has laminitis in the front hooves, it will bring its hindlegs underneath its body and put its forelegs out in front called “pointing”

How to diagnose Laminitis?

The sooner the diagnosis is made the faster the treatment and the recovery process can begin. Diagnosing Laminitis is the main problem since the general problem often starts somewhere else in the horses body. Symptoms start with very small changes in your horses hooves, keeping current records and even photos of your horses feet is a good preventive measure. The current prevailing theory as to the most common cause of Laminitis cases is that the farrier. Many farriers will cut out the sole, frog and bars giving little relevance to the position of the internal bones and cartaliges.

The frog has the most pain receptors in the hoof

leads to horse tip-toe walking if cut by farrier incorrectly over a period of time

lack of movement – horses need 16-20 hours of movement

Carbohydrate overload

Insulin resistance, Sweet feeds, processed feeds, over suplementing

Nitrogen compound overload

Hard flat ground

Lush pasture

Frosted grass

Freezing or overheating of the feet

Untreated infections

Colic

Cushing’s disease

Peripheral Cushing’s disease

Retained placenta

Drug reactions

Exposure to agrichemicals

A lot of the new research happening is that the diet of a horse is more likely the cause. TheHorse.com has an excellent article about new research on sugar and starch in a horses diet (free registration required to view). It focuses on “a breakthrough in Laminitis research by a team of scientists at University of Queensland, Australia, and colleagues, was published in August 2007 The Veterinary Journal”.